Back pain, specifically lower back pain, affects up to 80% of people at some point in time. Not only is it painful, but it can also make simple daily tasks extremely difficult to perform and can get in the way of enjoying recreational activities. If you have or are experiencing back pain, you’ve probably been told that medications are the only way to get any substantial relief. But while OTC (over-the-counter) pain relievers are available, there are alternative ways to decrease your pain.
Through simple at-home stretching, relief can be found to alleviate chronic back pain. Here are some recommended stretches that you can add to your daily routine to help relieve your painful back:
Knee to chest : This stretch helps to lengthen your low back and relieve pain and tension.
- Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet on the floor.
- Using both hands, hold on to your right inner thigh, interlacing your fingers, or you can clasp onto your wrists just under the knees.
- While your left foot remains flat on the floor, gently pull your right knee towards your chest until you feel a slight stretch in your low back.
- Hold this position for up to 1 minute while making sure your legs, hips, and low back are relaxed.
- Repeat on the other side.
Trunk rotation : This stretch can help relieve back tension as well as strengthen your core muscles.
- Start by lying on your back, then bring both knees to your chest like you are sitting in a chair.
- Extend your arms out to the sides, place the palms of your hands face down on the floor.
- Keep your knees together with your hands on the floor, then gently roll your knees to the right side and hold for 15-20 seconds.
- Bring your knees back to the starting position and roll to the left side. Hold here for 15-20 seconds.
- Repeat on each side 5-10 times.
Seated forward bend : This stretches the hamstrings to release tension in the spine.
- Sitting on the floor with your legs in front of you, hook a bath towel around the bottoms of your feet at the heels.
- Bend forward gently at your hips, bringing your belly towards your thighs.
- Keeping your back straight, grab the towel and bring your belly closer to your legs, deepening the stretch.
- Stop when you feel a slight tension in the back of your legs and back.
- Hold here for 30 seconds, relax, and repeat up to 3 times.
Flexion rotation : This stretch relieves tension in the low back and glutes.
- Start out lying on your right side with both legs straight.
- Bend your left leg across the body and hook your left foot behind the knee.
- Grab your left knee with your right arm.
- Put your left hand behind the neck for support or lay the left arm out to the side against the floor.
- Use your upper body to rotate your left shoulder blade towards the floor.
- Continue to repeat this rotation on each side up to 10 times. Hold each time for 1-3 seconds and gently move out of the rotation.
Back pain can make even the most everyday activities difficult and painful. Stretching has proven to not only reduce pain in the lower back, but it can prevent it from coming back.
For more information on back pain relief, give us a call at 661-587-0700 today.